KUCHING: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) have signed a new Partnership Agreement to groom more professional accountants locally.
The new agreement will enable 1,000 Malaysian undergraduates registered with the ACCA Accelerate scheme to commence their ACCA Qualification studies a joint funding structure, ACCA said in a statement yesterday.
Financial support will include sponsorship of initial registration fee and annual subscriptions for two years by ACCA; and provision of two Professional Level paper examination fees by TalentCorp, for every eligible candidate.
Stephen Heathcote, ACCA executive director-Markets, who signed the agreement on behalf of the global professional body, said: “In total, the sponsorship ACCA and TalentCorp are offering amounts to about RM3 million.
“But this latest agreement does not only benefit the undergraduates. Employers will find comfort to know there are 1,000 talents now in the pipeline who will join the workforce in the near future.
“These are individuals who will be well-learned and are industry-ready to do the work that needs to be done,” he added.
Through the ACCA Accelerate scheme, accounting and finance undergraduates from selected public and private universities can two ACCA Professional Level papers while pursuing their degree programme, making this a fast-track pathway towards becoming a chartered certified accountant.
Johan Mahmood Merican, CEO of TalentCorp, said: “The ACCA Accelerate scheme is a prime example of academia and industry partnering to accelerate the progression of accounting students to become professionally qualified.
“I am confident this partnership will pave the way in ensuring we have a steady stream of qualified talent to meet the needs of Malaysia’s accounting sector.”
In an effort to connect talents directly with employers, ACCA also announced the imminent launch of the revamped ACCA Careers online portal at the event.
According to Heathcote, the new ACCA Careers portal will be unveiled at the end of September 2015, offering employers the opportunity to access and attract the very best ACCA talents available by posting job vacancies directly to the site.
“As the importance of employability moves further up the agenda for both job seekers and employers alike, the new ACCA Careers portal will provide an important piece in that difficult-to-complete puzzle.
“Ultimately, our intention is to provide a platform where talents and employers can connect,” said Heathcote.
Head of ACCA Malaysia, David Chin, concludes: “ultimate goal here is to groom our undergraduates to be industry-ready faster.
“Suffice to say, today’s signing with TalentCorp is an exciting undertaking for us because this latest partnership represents one big step forward in grooming more professional accountants who will contribute to Malaysia’s progress.”